Notes / Commercial Description:
In the tradition of the Bavarian Märzen beers of Germany, we cellar our fall lager in cool tanks for the length of the summer, producing an exceptionally clean-smooth flavor. With its pronounced malty “Viennabread” sweetness and herbal Nobel hop finish, there’s an Oktoberfest in every sip.

User Reviews

Reviews by BigRedN:

4/5 rDev +2.8%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Poured from the bottle into a pint glass. The beer is a amber/orange color. My pour produced a nice whitish head, about 1 inch in height. Head fades as the beer is consumed, leaving a little patch and laces down the glass.

Smell: Malty aromas come from this beer. Hint of slightly sweet caramel and toffee with a tinge of slightly roasted nuts.

Taste: In line with a good Oktoberfest/Marzen style. Nice lightly sweet malt body (taste in line with the scent) with a slight bitterness on the finish. Beer is unfiltered and unpastuerized. Consume by Dec. notched on side. Mine appears to still be good; just as tasty as the first one I had in October.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied combined with a nice unforced natural, light, carbonation. The beer is not watery, or fizzy, yet is lively going down.

Overall: My final O-fest that I had been saving (best for last). A great representation of the style imo. Empyrean just started bottling their seasonal beers this year and I beleive this is the second one released. If they are all as good as this their seasonals will be not to miss selections when they come out.

Sampling right now on 9/23/14. Had this once before a few years back. Bottle chilled down to 36 degrees F in my beer cooler and poured in to a "EMPYREAN" snifter glass. contains 5.3% alcohol (ABV) and 28 IBU (International Bittering Units).

Pours a pretty copper-amber in color with a thin white head. Some spotty lacing is seen when sipped. The aroma is very pleasant and is of caramel, floral hops and malts. The taste follows the nose and is very smooth with some toffee in the mix as well. Very crisp but smooth with no bitter or harsh aftertaste. Just a slight dry finish which just adds to this brew. Medium bodied and carbonation.. Overall a really good seasonal.

Enjoyed form the 12 oz bottle in a snifter via a friend from work---Thanks Randy

This fine brew pours a murky brownish orange with a moderate head of off white foam that dissipates to a thin ring, light wispy layer, and light lacing. Nose of caramel, buttered biscuit, and subtle orange and apricot notes. Flavors follow the nose with rich breaded malts and sweet caramel dancing about a light orange and peach nectar flavor mixed with a light cream and finishing with a light herbal hops note. Finish is a touch dry with a light grain note. Nice blend of flavors and medium carbonation to keep it lively. Overall an excellent brew from Nebraska.

Throwing down an unexpected O-Fest with some decent cold flowing outside. It pours a dark sunset amber topped by a finger of cream-white foam. The nose comprises caramel, buttery biscuit, light orange peel, very light grass, and a vague sense of mild nuts. The taste follows pretty closely, though there's a tiny bit of mild cocoa deep in the bowels. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a sorta dry finish. Overall, a nice little O-Fest, but one that's pretty easy to forget.

Taste (3.5) : Heavy on nutmeg, some artificial pumpkin flavors. Robust gourd in the middle with an alcoholic presence. The end is taut with some sour bitterness (hops) and baked pumpkin pie. I'm surprised I can taste the alcohol as much as I can with the 5.3% ABV.

Mouthfeel (3.25) : Light bodied, a little watery, ends dry.

Overall (3.76) : The scores kind of descended a quarter point each category, didn't they? Anyways, this is a Marzen I could probably forget about, but I could easily drink it again. It is good, but the hoppy presence is just a touch too forward. Let the beer breathe, man!

Next to other Oktoberfests I'd say Aries Marzen is hoppy and watery. It's not the worst Oktoberfest I've ever had (I mean, look at the lacing, it's great!), but it's far from the best. That award this year goes to Lucky Bucket. Time for winter ales now!

Thanks to Todd for sharing a six pack of this Marzen straight from Lincoln, NE.

Light coppery pour with a bubbly light head that leaves some lacing. Smell is roast/smoky malt and nuts, somewhat sweet, and tanins. Taste in tangy in a sweet orange zest sort of way that's hard to describe, along with earthy, crackers and biscuits malt presence that is fairly overwhelming. Medium-heavy body, well carbonated. Starts sweet and tangy, but finishes dry. Overall, this Marzen's tangy/earthy flavor combination isn't one I can say I'd want to seek it out again.